


Trope De Arc

by Blade1hunter



Category: RWBY
Genre: AU, Acting, Arc Family - Freeform, Gen, Jaune doesn't go to Beacon, Other, Singing, Time Skips, loving family, theatrics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-01-30 14:00:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21429370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blade1hunter/pseuds/Blade1hunter
Summary: Trope de Arc: a family of performers who tour around Remnant trying to keep people's spirits up with singing, dancing, and any kind of performance they can think of. Join the Arc family as they tour the world throughout the years, performing, making friends, and putting smiles on as many peoples faces as they can!
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	1. An Atlasian Opera.

A seven-year-old Weiss sat silently in the car as their chauffeur drove them to the opera house. She was in a pure white dress that glittered in the light to show of her posh adorableness. Her hair done in a small sophisticated ponytail. She’s had to dress like this for the opera house for as long as she could remember. So about three years.

“Do we seriously have to do this?’ her older sister complained next to her. She was wearing a pearl blue dress with white outlines. Her hair was slightly curled so it bounced whenever they hit a bump in the road. “It’s just like any other opera we’ve been to.”

“You will be silent Winter,” Jacques scorned his teenage daughter. All he got was a scoff in return. “We are one of the few high ranking members of Atlas, as such we are expected to show up to these recitals. Not to mention this will be a good opportunity to push Weiss to do her best when it comes to her singing.” Weiss nodded her head to her father as he said that to let him know she was listening. “Although the fact that the opening by out of town hicks is disgusting…” The older man mumbled that last part.

“Come on dear,” their mother said trying to calm the businessman. “They are said to be very good at what they do.”

“Oh yes, perhaps from the shanty bars they usual perform at!” Weiss turned to her sister to see her glaring daggers at their father. She gulped as she saw the fight about to happen. Winter has been spatting with their father recently, and Weiss had no idea why. He was a successful business man of the Schnee Dust Company, had been taking out any competition and has even taken time off to spend time with them! So why was she fighting with father?

“Well if you don’t want to go let’s just head back.” Winter sneered “Besides Whitley didn’t have to come, so why do we have to?” Whitley, their three-year-old brother was being left behind and taken care of by Klein. This irritated Winter for reasons she’s stated.

“Whitley is too young to truly enjoy these things. I guarantee you that once he is of age he will be coming along with us.”

“Well I think that I’m too old to enjoy these things.” Winter and Jacques looked like the talk was going to turn into an argument until the chauffeur called for them. Jacques turned to the radio next to him and pressed the button.

“Yes?”

“We have arrived sir.” The crackly voice of their chauffer said. Jacques hummed in response and began to get out of the limo. His wife followed with Winter and finally Weiss. As they got out their father was greeted by some of the aristocrats of Atlas. As their parents began to schmooze, Winter and Weiss lagged behind. Weiss shifted uncomfortably in her heels before tugging on her sisters’ sleeve.

“Yes Weiss?” Winter asked in a calm and sweet voice.

“Why are you arguing with father?” Weiss questioned. Winter bit her lip as she looked back between their father and Weiss herself. When she was sure he wasn’t within earshot her older sister sighed.

“It’s… hard to understand sister. Father and I are just… having some difference of opinions.” Weiss tilted her head in confusion, much like a dog would. Winter just smiles and clasps her hands in her sister’s. “You’ll understand when you’re older. Don’t worry, no matter what happens I will always be your older sister.” Winter had a cheerful smile as she stared into weiss’s eyes. That made Weiss smile in return. She loved Winter. If she said things were going to be okay, then she’ll trust her. With her curiosity satisfied, the two began to catch up with their parents. As they did they overheard part of the conversation.

“...ese White Fang that has recently popped up?” the Aristocratic woman asked.

“Bah!” Jacques scoffed. “Nothing but lazy faunus who use the image of ‘equality’ for nothing but to suckle on the breast of hard workers of Atlas. I guarantee you if we pay them no mind, they will disperse.” Their mother looked as if she had another idea but a look from Jacques made her clamp up. Following the standard “Children are seen, not heard,” their father enforced, the two girls followed behind silently into the house.

*****

The Schnee family had been sitting in their seats waiting for the show to begin. They had one of the best seats in the house, obviously perks of being the reining dust company of the world. They were situated to the right of the regular seats and up a little bit to give them a good view of the stage. The murmur of the crowd filled their ears as they looked around. Weiss looked down at the crowd to see many well dressed individuals waiting with them. She was growing bored with how long it was taking for the show to start. She had already read the program notes. Twice! Moments like this made her wish she was old enough to have a scroll, something to keep her entertained.

Weiss decided to reread the program knowing that she had nothing better to do. It was a standard opera with a performer she. They all just sound the same to her truth be told. Of course, she would never let her father hear that. What did catch her attention however was the opening act. It appeared to be the “group of hicks” father was talking about.

**Troupe de Arc.**

She had no idea who these people were, but she never really focused on who the people were. After all, she had already been to so many of these that the names kind of blend together, but this was new. For one, the program called them a troupe, usually there were individuals to spread the exposure of the artists, but not here. Not to mention, there was the song title.

Erlkönig

With what she was learning, that was a western Atlasian word. That language was also where her name originated from. From the little she knew, it seemed to be something about a king. However, at the bottom of it, it said “Featuring: all of the Arcs.” While she was curious as to what that meant, her mind was going numb from boredom.

As if the Gods heard her plea, the lights began to dim, the curtains started to slowly draw, and the crowd began to quiet down. A spotlight shined down in the middle of the stage to an empty space. Weis was confused, that was until a man stepped from the shadows and into the light.

He seemed to be an old, average heighted man with short wavey dark blonde hair with bits of grey. His eyes were a deep blue that held a strong, confident gaze. He had a dark blue shirt with a black overcoat on with black pants and shoes to match. He took a deep bow and walked up to the microphone on stage.

“Ladies and gentleman of Atlas,” he began. His voice was suave, and easy to listen to. As if he’s done this a million times before and, to be fair, he probably has. “My name is Azure Arc. Before we begin our show tonight, I would just like to thank the Atlasian Opera house for helping us set up this event for all of you. They have provided the symphony, the decorations, and everything needed to make this show.”

The audience began to clap to thank the house for helping the troupe. Weiss glanced at her father for a second to see him clapping, but he sighed.

“Tacky…” he mumbled. The blonde rose his hand to politely silence the crowd. When it was silent he began speaking again.

“I would also like to thank some very special guests for coming here tonight.” He waved his hand over to where they were sitting and a spotlight shone on the Schnee family. Weiss covered her eyes as she wasn’t expecting this. However, Jacques, her mother, and Winter seemed to recover much quicker than her and stood up from the seats. Weiss soon followed, trying to ignore the glare her father sent her, and the apologetic look of her mother.

“The Schnee family, I thank you for joining us this evening and taking time away from your busy schedule to see us perform for you tonight.” The audience began clapping again and the three older Schnee’s took a bow, with Weiss following suit as soon as they did. The spotlight that was on them was turned off and they sat back down.

“Now with that out of the way, I will introduce my lovely daughter, Poppy, who will be the pianist of Troupe de Arc’s opener.” Azure motions over to the side of the stage and out comes an admittedly pretty woman with long light blonde hair. With the light on her, it almost seemed white like her family’s hair. She was wearing a dark grey dress and black heels. The clack of her heels echoed throughout the hall and her long hair swished as she walked over to her father.

Azure began rubbing his throat and humming to himself. Meanwhile, Poppy walked over to the mic. Azure whispered something to his daughter and she nodded her head. Meanwhile, A piano was being pushed on stage by a person with a hood up. Aside from that Weiss couldn’t see anything about them.

Poppy and Azure stopped talking and the woman walked over to the microphone. She cleared her throat and leaned a little closer to the mic.

“And my Father Azure, as the lead vocalist,” She said. Her voice was soft, calm, and sweet. Like Weiss’s mother when she was singing her lullabies. The two Arcs go up to each other and talk for a few seconds. Poppy smiles and nods her head and Azure squeezes her hand. The two separate and the lights on stage begin to shine all around it.

Weiss, however, was confused. If all of the Arcs were performing, where were they? This made no sense. Were they lying? Was the program misleading or had a typo? These questions rang through Weiss’s head, and before she knew it, Poppy began playing.

The piano started of with the higher register playing fast, and then the lower register played a foreboding tune. This repeats a couple of times before a man who looked to be riding a fake horse galloped on stage. A projection of a forest was shown on the back of the stage and it gave the illusion of him galloping through said forest. The horse’s legs continued to run despite the man never moving. That was when Weiss got a closer look at the man on the horse.

He had brown hair instead of the blonde that Poppy had. He had a strong jawline, with what looked to be slight stubble growing. He was wearing a white tailcoat that was somehow waving magically despite the man staying stationary, with a dark blue undershirt on. He had black trousers with a belt to hold them up . On his hands were brown riding gloves that jockeys used, and on his feet were black loafers. He had one hand on the rein of the horse and his other hand clutching something in his chest.

The man continued to “gallop” as the piano continued to play. Azure finally walked up to the mic, took a deep breath, and sang.

_“Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind?”_

Within the first verse, Weiss, Winter, and their mother had their eyes bulging out of their head. Weiss was amazed at the vocals on the elder. Despite his age, his sound filled the entire opera house, and his tone was clear, beautiful even.

Winter and her mother were not only impressed by that, but by the fact that he was using the western Atlasian language. Every kingdom speaks the same common language, yet different kingdoms began to split apart from common and make their own language. Some theorize it was for the great war, others theorize that common came from a combination of the other languages.

Regardless, the fact was, very little people spoke western Atlasian. Not only was Azure singing in it, but he was doing so perfectly. Troupe de Arc, from what little knowledge they knew, was a Valian group. The fact that one of them took the time to learn the song in another language and they weren’t known to be an opera group, well it was surprising to say the least.

Finally, in the background on the forest there was some small text near the top. It’s color was made so it didn’t stand out, but was still noticeable. It was the translation of the song.

“_Who rides so late in the windy night?”_

Weiss was very impressed. Sure she may not be the biggest fan of these shows, but the detail this group was going through was something even a young mind like herself could enjoy. As the paino continued to play, Azure sung again.

_“Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind!” _Again, the projection showed the translation on the screen.

_“It is the father, and his child!”_

When the word child showed up, Weiss looked again to see a young boy about her age all of a sudden pop up from where the man riding the horse was clutching to his chest. The boy had a mop of blonde hair, skin like his fathers, and a brown tunic. He was too far away to see anything noticeable, as he was turned away from the audience.

“_Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm,  
Er fasst ihn sicher, er hält ihn warm.”_

_“He holds his child tight in his arm.  
He holds his son, warm and safe.”_

The son began to look over his father’s shoulder. As he did, the piano changed to a dreadful tone for a couple of measures, then softened back up. Not only that, but mist seemed to be appear from everywhere on stage. As the mist formed, a shadow figured began to appear on stage. It was a projection, but the cloak and twisted smile and crown the creature had on it’s face made it very disturbing.

As the creature appeared, the son buried his head into his father’s shoulder. Azure’s voice goes a little bit deeper as he sings again.

_“Mein Sohn, was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht?”_

_“My son, why are you hiding in fear?”_

The father placed a hand on his son’s head as this line was said. The boy then popped up and pointed at the creature. Azure’s voice changed again to a higher register.

_“Siehst Vater, du den Erlkönig nicht?  
Den Erlenkönig mit Kron' und Schweif?”_

_“Father, Do you not see the Elfking near?  
The Elfking with his crown and train?!”_

The father looks fearful for a moment, and turns around. It’s unclear whether he saw the creature as it dissipates. Azure goes back to his lower tone.

_“Mein Sohn, es ist ein Nebelstreif…”_

_“My son, it is only just the mist.”_

The father turns back and continues to gallop. As he did, the creature known as the Elf king appeared again, but was next to the boy, face to face, with an unsettling smile. The piano began to play a softer melody, and Azure’s voice also grew soft.

_"Du liebes Kind, komm, geh mit mir!_  
Gar schöne Spiele spiel' ich mit dir;  
Manch bunte Blumen sind an dem Strand,  
Meine Mutter hat manch gülden Gewand."

_“Young man, come with me._  
We will play games together!  
With lovely flowers spread upon the beach!  
And my mother, who wears golden garments!”

The Piano begins to play the dreading notes again, as the boy shakes his father for attention again, whilst pointing at the figure. Azure’s voice again goes back to the young one’s tone. Weiss would admit that the man’s change in tone with each character was beautifully done, she could always tell which voice was representing which actor.

_“Mein Vater, mein Vater, und hörest du nicht,  
Was Erlenkönig mir leise verspricht?”_

_“My father, My father! Do you not hear,  
The Elfking whisper promises in my ear?!”_

The father turns around, only for the creature to disappear again. The father looks scared stiff, but continues to ride on. Poppy plays the piano into a more quizzical manner but still with a hint of dread.

_“Sei ruhig, bleibe ruhig, mein Kind;  
In dürren Blättern säuselt der Wind…”_

“_Stay calm, be calm my son.  
For it is just the wind in the leaves…”_

Weiss had no idea if the man was ignoring the blatant signs, or if he truly did not see the creature his son was describing. Regardless, it kept Weiss on the edge of her seat. As the piano turned softer again, the creature reappeared as a projection, but to girls who looked to be around Winter’s age began to dance around on stage.

As they did, Weiss noticed they were wearing the same crown and cloak that the Elf King wore.

_"Willst, feiner Knabe, du mit mir gehn?_  
Meine Töchter sollen dich warten schön;  
Meine Töchter führen den nächtlichen Reihn  
Und wiegen und tanzen und singen dich ein."

_“Lovely child, will you come with me?_  
My daughters will wait and play with you.  
My daughters will sing and dance,   
and rock you to sleep.”

As this lyric was sung, the two girls dancing inched their way towards the boy. As they did Weiss saw that one of them was blonde, while the other had brown hair. She wondered if these two were the other members of the troupe.

When they finally reached the boy, they both cupped his face with their hands, with beautiful smiles tempting him, all whilst the father ignored them, or couldn’t see them.

_“Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dort  
Erlkönigs Töchter am düstern Ort?”_

_“My father! My father! Do you not see there?  
The Elfking’s daughter as they stand there?!”_

The father against turns around, only for the Girls to dip down, and back behind the curtains.

_“Mein Sohn, mein Sohn, ich seh es genau:  
Es scheinen die alten Weiden so grau!”_

_“My son, my son, I see it clearly!  
It is only the willows shining in the moonlight.”_

Weiss actually groaned at this point. It was starting to get on her nerves how dense the father was acting. His son was clearly distraught, yet he would just casually wave it off like it was nothing. Yet, why did he look so fearful? Does he think ignoring the problem will make it go away?

As angry as Weiss was, she couldn’t wait to find out.

The ELfking appeared again, practically on top of them now, the unsettling smile was less, but there was another air about him.

_"Ich liebe dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt;  
Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch' ich Gewalt."_

_“I love you!_  
I’m enthralled by your Beauty!  
If you won’t come peacefully,  
Then I will take you by force!”

The smile the projection had slowly but surely turned into a furrowed brow, and the unsettling tone was gone. Now, it was frown full of evil, and fear. The projection reached out it’s arm, and the boy acted as if the Elfking had him by the throat.

_“Mein Vater, mein Vater, jetzt fasst er mich an!  
Erlkönig hat mir ein Leids getan!”_

_“My father, My father! He has grabbed me!  
The ElfKing has grabbed and hurt me!”_

It looked as if the Elfking ripped something from the child, as the projection caused another shadow to show escaping the boy, and within the Elfking’s hand. The blond boy twitched as the entire process happened, and when whatever left his body did, he had one last twitch, before going limp over his father’s shoulder.

The Piano begins to pick up the pace again, as the forboding tune returned once more. The father felt his son go limp, and his eyes widened in fear. Azure goes back to the originally voice that started the song.

_“Dem Vater grauset's, er reitet geschwind,  
Er hält in den Armen das ächzende Kind”_

_“The father begins to shudder, and makes haste.  
The groaning remains of his son in his arms.”_

The piano begins to crescendo with notes and volume, and then slowly dies down.

_“Erreicht den Hof mit Mühe und Not_ _”_

_“Anxious, he reached the farm…”_

The man hops off of the horse, and then begins to run across the stage to where what looked to be a daughter the same age as the boy looked in horror as the father knelt down in front of them, the boy still in his arms.

The piano stops playing, and Azure utters the last lines.

“_In seinen Armen das Kind war tot.”_

_“In his arms, his son lies… **dead.**”_

The Piano plays two final sting notes, as the father places his forehead against his son’s, whilst the sister shakes in fear as she finally holds onto her brother, for the last time. Then, the lights shining on the actors and the projection go out, leaving only Azure, and Poppy on stage.

Weiss was stunned. She had no idea what to feel about this. It was exhilarating, yet horrifying. A great song, but a horrible story. She had no idea how to react. Luckily, the crowd did.

A roaring applause erupted throughout the theatre, with many of the patrons standing. Weiss followed along, a big smile on her face. The lights on Azure and Poppy grew as she walked forward, and soon the actors began to rush out to the stage. The father and son were there obviously, but the two girls who played the daughters were there, and the grandmother and sister fo the boy were there too. All of them grabbed hands, and took a big bow.

Weiss couldn’t stop smiling and clapping. This group of “hicks’” wer very entertaining in her eyes. As she turned towards her family she saw that winter had agreed to this. Her father and mother however, disagreed as they had stoic looks as they clapped. Weiss felt her stomach churn and soon her energy died down and she sat back down.

“Thank you all!” Azure said. “We Troupe de Arc, thank all of you for enjoying the opener. We all hope you enjoy your main event.” With hat, the family takes another deep bow, followed by another round of applause and whistles, and they begin to walk off stage.

The stage managers began to move the piano off stage, the props for the actually Opera on stage, and set up for the reason people came. However, Weiss’s mind was still buzzing. That show was so thrilling, so exciting. If she liked that, shge would surely love this opera.

So, Weiss sat up and made sure to pay attention to everything, this Opera was going to offer.

*

As the after party dinner was held in the banquet hall, Jacques and Willow Shcnee continued to converse with their friends, as Weiss and Winter sat around bored out of their minds. Well, Winter was, Weiss was just sitting there confused.

She thought this opera was going to be fun, she thought that it would actually be enjoyable, especially after the opener. So why did she zone out halfway through? Why was it like every other time she went there?

“You look like you’re head’s going to pop,” Winter joked, gathering her sisters attention. The little seven-year-old Weiss looked over to see caring sisterly eyes looking at her.

“S-Sorry Winter…” She mumbled.

“Don’t be sorry, just tell me what’s on your mind.” The younger snowy haired sister took a deep breath, and let her thoughts spill out. As she did, the adults began to murmur loudly for some reason, but Winter held onto every sentence, every word, always making sure she got the gist of what Weiss was feeling. After a minute of talking, or as some might put it, ranting, Weiss was finally done.

“Hmm…” Winter hummed. “Sounds like you just enjoyed Trope de Arc more than the actual Opera.” Winter gave her little sister a sweet smile. “There’s no reason to be upset about it.” Weiss still shifted uncomfortably.

“But father says that we go to these thing because it’s expected of us, and it’s to help me.” Winter sighed sadly before placing her hand on her sisters shoulder.

“I know what father says. But just because you are forced to do something doesn’t mean you have to enjoy it. So tell me, what did you enjoy more? Trope de Arc, or the opera?” Weiss looked at the ground. She knew what she enjoyed more, but she also knew it would be opposite of what father wanted. Can she really do that? Was she really allowed to go against fathers word?

The little seven year old looked up to see a soft caring smile of her sister looking at her. Within that smile was something that helped her make her decision.

“I preferred the trope over the opera,” Weiss stated confidently. The smile grew on Winter’s face and she pinched her sisters cheeks.

“You’re so adorable.” Weiss swatted them away before huffing. “Still if you liked them, maybe you can thank them yourself.” The little one turned to face her sister again.

“How do I do that?” Winter motioned with her head to a couple of people nearby and Weiss’s little jaw nearly hit the floor.

Standing there, mingling with the others in the dining room was Poppy and Azure Arc. The little seven year old couldn’t believe her eyes. This was a closed banquet, so the fact someone invited commoners here was a shock to the little Schnee.

All she could do was stare in disbelief as she saw the singer and pianist of the opener schmooze with other big Atlas names. Not only that, it seemed like the other families were _happy_ that they were there. Everything her father told her about people like them was they cause trouble no matter where they go, that they have no manners.

Needless to say, it threw the young white haired girl for a loop.

Winter saw black smog erupt from her younger sister’s head and realized she needed a push. “Well, are you just going to stare or are you going to go talk with them?” she asked. Weiss looked between her sister, and the two Arcs.

“But… I’m not allowed to talk with adults…” Weiss answered. Winter did know that, especially since most of the topics at these things aren’t meant for younger ears. However, this was just her meeting a group that Weiss liked.

“All right then.” Winter stood up and dusted herself off. “Then I’ll help you.” Weiss began waving her hands in front of her.

“No, Winter I don’t need you to, I’m fine!”

“Too late,” Winter said before grabbing her younger sisters’ shoulder, and walking over to the two blondes. Weiss continued to struggle and insist she didn’t need to do this and actually tried to shake Winter off. It had minimal success, however Winter wouldn’t lie and say that she wasn’t a smidge proud of her younger sister for trying to fight her off.

Eventually the two reached the group the two blondes were talking to and the younger Schnee began to clamp up, if to safe herself and family embarrassment of her immaturity. The two sisters waited off to the side a bit, letting them finish their conversation before gathering their attention. Once they were done, Winter walked up to Poppy and Azure.

“Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Arc?” Winter greeted with the soft but firm voice of a noble. The two blondes turned their attention to the younger girls. Weiss was expecting the usual stares children get when they try to talk with adults. Anger, haughty, disgust, etc…

However the older man and young woman had the same smiles etched on their face when Winter greeted them. No hints of disdain in their eyes, no sigh of annoyance, just genuine warmth. Warmth she only ever saw in her father if she did something he was proud of. Or whenever Klein took care of her.

“Yes?” Azure greets with an old gravelly, but strong voice. “How can we help you young ones?” Winter squeezed her little sister’s shoulder and gently pushed her up a bit.

“My sister here wanted to meet you two. She very much enjoyed your act and wanted to tell you personally.” The older blonde looked down at the younger Schnee causing her to straighten up a bit. However, a wrinkly but warm smile stretched across the face of Azure and he stuck his hand out.

“Azure Arc.” Weiss looked at the hand, then at her Winter as if asking her if it was okay. Winter nodded. Wiess took a deep breath and politely shook his hand.

“Weiss Schnee, daughter of Jaques and Willow Arc,” she introduced. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” The old man chuckled lightly before motioning to Poppy.

“This is my beautiful and wonderful daughter Poppy.” The woman began to glare at her father.

“You’re embarrassing me dad,” she said with a hint of sarcasm. The blonde woman reaches out and Shakes Weiss hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Schnee.”

“Weiss Schnee you said?” Weiss nodded her head and the older man turned to Winter. “That must make you Winter Schnee, heiress to Schnee Dust Company?”

Winter nodded her head. “Nice to meet you Mr. Arc.” The older gentleman and the older Schnee shook hands.

“A pleasure to meet you two young ladies as well.” Poppy stopped shaking Weiss’s hand and shook Winter’s.

“If I may ask,” Poppy started. “What of our show did you like so much Miss Weiss?” Again, Weiss was taken aback at the fact they wished to converse with her, and not Winter. Despite that, she still remembered the important lessons that her father and Klein taught her. Straight posture, slightly raised head, and a confident.

“I found the music enjoyable despite not understanding it. However, I give props to whoever had the projector adding those in, as they helped.”

“You’ll have to thank my daughter for that,” Poppy boasted. The pride in her voice was obvious. “She’s not much of a spotlight girl, so she does her best backstage.” Poppy nodded to the younger Schnee to continue.

“The actors added to the tension of the song, and the projections from the Elfking was horrifying and was very well done. Overall I was very entertained.” Weiss was internally smiling. She was sophisticated, and kept her noble posture. Her father would surely be proud.

“Thank you, Madame Weiss,” Azure says with a small bow. “You honor my entire family with your compliments.”

“Is it true everyone in your production is related?” Winter asked curiously. Weiss would be lying if she said she wasn’t curious about that as well.

“It is,” Poppy answered. A small blush appeared on her face as she answered. “Although, I must admit, most of the family is my daughters…”

“That is the understatement of the year,” Azure chuckled lightly. “Despite how many grandchildren you give me though, I know she will love them to the ends of Remnant.”

“If I may ask, how many children do you have Miss Arc?” Weiss questioned.

“Five beautiful daughters,” Poppy Answered. Weiss nearly fainted from that. Five? From the amount of “juice” mother drinks and the stress father always seems to have, three kids are enough for her family. Yet Poppy was able to have two more? “And an adorable little boy.” Scratch that, three more.

“Six children?!” Weiss blurted out. This caused a couple of adults to turn their way which reminded Weiss of her manners. “F-Forgive me that was just… a surprise.” Again, Azure and Poppy just laugh softly.

“It’s fine,” Azure assured her. “Trust me, everyone gets that reaction.”

“So,” Winter started. “Where are they?”

“Not here. My grandchildren, the lovely children they are, are not used to the more… formal events here in Atlas. Besides, just us being here is enough to stir some trouble.”

“Weiss, Winter!” a familiar voice called out. Weiss stiffened up when she heard it and she heard Winter just sigh. Poppy even made a small comment that only the sisters heard.

“Case in point,” she said.

Jaques walked over to his daughters and put a hand on Winter’s arm. He used his strength to force her behind him so that he was facing Poppy and Azure. Poppy had a polite look about her, if a little bit of disdain. Azure however, had a look that screamed apathetic. He seemed bored, uncaring, maybe a bit of a sneer.

The looks the two Arcs have given were a common sight for a Schnee. So what threw Weiss off was how they acted towards her and her sister, versus her father. What was so different?

“Greetings Mister Schnee,” Azure said with a polite nod of his head. “Have I done something wrong?”

“No,” Jaques said whilst casting a glance at his daughters. “Although I must ask who invited you this banquet. After all this is a private event.” The distain in his voice could be heard from everyone. Weiss took a look around to see a couple of others nodding their head in agreement, but their father wasn’t talking loud enough to draw attention to them.

“I did,” a rough voice said. Everyone tuned to see a cleanshaven, well dressed Major Ironwood. Whilst there were many majors, Ironwood got the attention of many people. His devastation on the battlefield is only matched by his silver tongue and cunning mind. It wouldn’t be a surprise if this man turned into Colonel someday. Maybe even general if he plays his cards right.

The Major walked over to the group with his posture straight, his upper body never moving or wavering as his legs carried him over. He finally reached the groupand looked at her father with an unwavering glare.

“Mr. Schnee,” he started. “I thought it would be polite to invite all of the performers here tonight, that includes Mr. Murdoch and Miss Bartoli. After all they have done so much work to entertain us, I thought it only fair to have them eat and chat with us.”

Jaques looked at the major and sighed. He did see the two lead singers here as well, and they did say Ironwood extended an invitation to them. He did not like the fact that he let the openers from vale in, but he can’t do anything as they had an invitation.

The look on Jaques face was subtle, barely noticeable, but he looked slightly angered, and defeated. Both Weiss and Winter were surprised by this. Their father was almost never defeated, to see someone like Ironwood do so was an amazing feat. However he put on his plastic smile and turned back to the Arcs.

“Well then I hope you enjoy the banquet.” With that he turned on his heels and walk away. “Winter, Weiss, let’s go.” Weiss immediately followed but Winter stuttered a bit as she took one last look at Ironwood. When Jacques called her name again she did as she was told.

As they walked away, Weiss could see her father was in that calm fury state that made it clear that she shouldn’t disobey him any time soon. Still, at least she got to meet the singer and pianist of the trope.

After they walked away, Jacques looked back at the two who were chatting with Ironwood, and then turned back to his daughters. “Both of you, head back to the car. Your mother and I will join you shortly.” The CEO looked over to Winter and glared. “Do not talk to anyone, and do not get side tracked, understood?”

Winter just glared back but nodded her head. With that the CEO of the SDC left to find his wife, whilst Winter and Weiss left the banquet.

*

Apparently, “ten minutes” to their father was “half an hour” in real time. They reached the limousine and had waited as they were instructed, but as the fifteen minute mark rolled by, Winter decided they had waited enough and she brought her back inside to keep Weiss warm. The fifteen minutes then turned to twenty, then to thirty. Winter’s scowl deepend as each and every minute ticked by.

As they waited however, they heard a commotion come from down the hall and they turned to see what it was. Coming down the hall was Azure and Poppy Arc. With them however, was the man who played the father in their performance, with his arm draped around Poppy’s waist. The three adults all had plastic bags with them with what looked to be carryout boxes.

All around the three of them were six children with a mixture of blonde and brunette hair., some of them near Winter’s age, and some of them near Weiss’s age

This was all of Trope de Arc. Five children, two parents, and a grandparent.

Winter flashed a smile and waved her hand towards the group. Azure saw and returned with a wave of his own, which got the attention of some of the Arcs. Mainly, the adults and the eldest child.

“Hello there Mr. Arc,” Winter greeted. “Is this the rest of your family?” Azure gave a soft laugh.

“You would be correct,” he answered. As the older gentleman began to talk this caused some of the kids to stop talking with each other and focus on the two Schnees in front of them. It looks like Poppy was telling the truth, five girls, one boy. Six pair of eyes staring at them caused both girls to shift nervously. Luckily, the three adults saw this and fixed it.

“Well? Introduce yourselves,” Poppy said in a polite but strict tone. The children snapped out of their trance and they all began to introduce themselves one by one.

As the family/trope introduced themselves, Weiss made a mental note about each everyone them and tried her best to remember the many names now coming at her.

Saphron, the eldest of the Arc children who was around Winter’s age. Weiss recognized her as one of the dancing daughters during the performance. Her long flowing blonde hair reminded it of Winter’s when she let it down. Her smile was bright and cheerful, as was her voice when introducing herself and she just radiated warmth.

Samantha Arc, second oldest Arc, who was little younger than Saphron. Another blonde who she recognized as one of the Elfking’s daughters. Her hair only went to her shoulders, compared to the longer hair of Saphron’s. She was a lot rougher and harder with the handshake, and she didn’t let go of Weiss’s hand and kept shaking it. After about twenty seconds of shaking hands, she let go and Weiss slowly felt the numbness drain from her fingers.

Dakota Arc, a medium haired brunette who Weiss recognized as the third of the Elfking daughters. Her smile was soft but pleasant, and she had a _much_ softer handshake than her previous sister. Her brunette hair had natural soft beautiful curls, and a voice to match. She was also carrying what looked to an instrument case.

Calista Arc, a girl Weiss had not seen in the play. She looked to only be a few years older than Weiss. She had a black hoodie on with the hood covering up her short brunette hair that had a clump of it dyed a dark blue. She muttered her greetings so softly that Weiss almost had to ask her name again. Her handshake was a quick one that she immedetly returned to her pocket.

Jade Arc, a girl around Weiss’s age. Weiss recognized her as the sister at the end of the show, that mourned the boy. She had short yellow hair that almost reminded Weiss of when she wanted short hair. Didn’t go too well. Her grin was wide and her handshake was just like Samantha’s, rough and hard. Her voice was also a bit loud.

Finally, was the only boy, Jaune Arc, who was around Weiss’s age. Weiss immedetly recognized this boy to be the one who played the child in the performance. It seemed that Jaune and Jade were twins if the short hair and same age were an indication. He seemed a little nervous, but eventually shook her hand with a tight grip, but not crushing one. He had a warm smile much like Saphron’s, and his hand seemed to linger a bit, causing Weiss to warm up for some reason.

After everyone introduced themselves, their father introduced himself as Michael and shook both Weiss and Winter’s hands. He then looked at his watch and ushered his kids out the door.

“Forgive us ladies, but we have to get back to our hotel,” he said as Poppy and Azure lead the kids out the door. “It was a pleasure to meet you Miss Schnee. You too Miss Schnee.” As he said that he had a cheeky grin on his face. Winter shook the man’s hand with both of hers again.

“You too Mr. Arc,” she returned. “Your performance was lovely. Even if my father doesn’t think so.” Michael smiled and chuckled at the compliemt.

“Thank you. That means a lot coming from you Miss Schnee.” With hat he gave one more nod to Weiss. “You two have a great rest of your evening.” With that he walked out into the night with his family. Before the doors closed however, both heard one last thing. “Jade stop picking on your bother!”

With that, Trope de Arc continued into the night. It would be a while before Weiss would see them again, but she would never forget them.

**To be continued. **

**A/N**

**Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Readers of all ages I welcome you to Trope de Arc! This is a side project as I focus on my main story, Student of Shade. I’ll be cross posting this on AO3 and FFN, since I know FFN’s rules about using songs is a bit more strict.**

**Anyway, this is a story where instead of becoming a huntsman, Jaune sticks with his family and they are actually a group of entertainers. Now the shows can vary from singing songs, or acting out plays, or any other kind of performance. I will have him meet others from canon, and I will try my best to spice up the performances so it’s not just the same thing over and over again.**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed and I will see you all soon.**

**Oh and the Song sung in this chapter is based on the german poem Erlkonig.**


	2. A Patchy Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any songs/music and/or performance “inspirations” used will be posted at the end.

An eight year old Ruby Rose walked around the Patch Snow Festival with her left hand holding the solid grip of her father, Taiyang, and her right hand holding the firm grip of her older sister Yang. A dark red coat bundled her tiny body in warmth as snow continued to fall in the town.

Despite the cold and snow, people were walking around chatting with each other. Smiles were seen everywhere, the smell of cooked food filled the frosty air, the cheerful laughter of both children and adults echoed, and overall everyone was enjoying the festival. Ruby herself had a huge grin as she walked between her blonde family as they took her to different stalls and games.

Taiyang himself had a satisfied smile stretched across his face. He was so glad that they decided to have a family day out like this. Yang just started her training for Signal Academy, which has been rough on his oldest. It was also rough on Ruby as she was slowly losing her older sister due to Yang having other responsibilities, leaving Tai to have to get out of his rut.

Yang was smiling as well. She was happy that despite everything happening, she could spend time with her family. It was hard being both the mother and older sister for Ruby, but with her dad’s mood like a flip of a switch between awesome dad and mopey widower, she had to make sure someone took care of them.

This was exactly what the Xiao Long household needed.

“Ooh lets go to that stand!” an excited Ruby cried out. She pointed over to a hot beverage stand that had a bit of a line to it. However the crisp air flecked across their face along with the individual snowflakes as the wind brushed pass them. Yang and Tai only had to look at each other to agree to it.

After getting in line and waiting for a few minutes, they finally got to front to see what they were serving.

“Hello Tai,” the older gentleman at the counter greeted. Ruby and Yang perused the menu as Tai kept with the small talk. Eventually, the girls were ready to order. As they were ordering however, the stall owner said something that got everyone’s attention. “Oh yeah, Tai, you aren’t going to believe who the Mayor got booked for the festival today!”

“Who?” the blonde questioned. The older gentleman handed the orders to his barista and turned back to his customers.

“Trope de Arc.” Tai’s eyes went wide as shock replaced his stoic look.

“Really? Do we know what they’ll be doing?” The stall owner shrugged.

“No clue. All I know is it is Christmas related.” Tai rolled his eyes.

“Yeah I figured that. I meant details.”

“Oh. Then no I have no idea.” A ring brought the stall owners attention to the back. He grabbed the drinks and handed them to the girls and pointed his head to the left of his stall, in the direction of the stage the mayor had set. “Although you can go check. I’m pretty sure they’re gonna start soon.” Tai smiled and nodded his head.

“Yeah that sounds fun.” He looked over to his precious daughters. “What do you say girls? Want to see a performance?”

“Yeah!” Ruby squealed. Yang nodded her head enthusiastically as well. With that the family marched their way over to the arena in the middle of the festival.

The stage was a standard wooden stage in the middle of a circular clearing. Around the clearing was some metal scaffolding holding lights to shine on the stage. Out in front of the stage was a mixture of benches that were connected to some dust heaters to help the guests, and benches stay warm.

As they reached their seats, they could see a bunch of people already sitting waiting for the show to start. Tai also saw what looked to be a camera being set up to record the performance. Yang and Ruby continued to keep their eyes glued to the stage, waiting for the performance to begin.

A couple of minutes pass and more and more people fill the seats and the girls finish their drinks. Soon, Ruby felt a weird feeling in her tummy.

“Dad?” Ruby asked. Her father looked at her with a confused look in his eye. “I have to go to the bathroom.” Tai sighed internally. He should’ve expected this. Still what is supposed to say to that? No? What kind of a parent does that?

He stood up and grabbed his little rose’s hand. “All right lets go sweetie.” Ruby followed suit and before they left Tai turned to his oldest. “You’ll save our seats right Yang?”

“Of course dad!” Yang said with a smile. With their seats saved, the two went on their way to find one of the bathroom stalls.

Thankfully, it wasn’t too long to find one, and there wasn’t a line to use them so Ruby got right in and did her business as Tai waited patiently outside. As time passed though, he heard a commotion coming from nearby. As he turned to see what it was, Ruby got out of the stall to block his view.

“All done!” Ruby said with glee. Just as she said that though, there was a thunk on the door she opened that caused her to jump and yell. She grasped to her father’s pants and peered around him to see the bathroom stall’s door slowly close as a blonde boy who was clutching papers in his hand is seen laying on the ground.

“Jaune!” a feminine voice called out. Tai looked up to see a blonde woman around the age of seventeen ran up to him. Out of the boy’s hands flew a couple pieces of the sheets which caused the older girl to panic. “Quick grab those!” she called out to Tai.

The retired huntsman did his best to catch the few papers that blew away as the older girl tried to help the little boy up. However he wasn’t quick enough and one of them blew past him just out of reach. He gasped as he missed it, but soon saw a red blur chase after the sheet.

“Ruby wait!” Tai called out. However just as he did, the girl had caught the sheet and stopped right in her tracks with the paper clasped tightly in her hands. She looked at the paper with wide yes, a hint of pride shining in them, mixed with surprise.

Again, Tai called out to his youngest breaking her out of her trance. She went back over to her father and handed him the paper. Tai swung around to see the older girl nursing a bump on the little one’s head.

“You gotta watch where you’re going dummy,” she scolded.

“You told me we had to hurry!” he requited. The older girl rolled her eyes and grabbed the papers from Tai’s hands. Afterwards she shook Tai’s hand with a relieved look on her face. “Thank you so much mister…?”

“Tai.”

“Thank you so much Mr. Tai. You are a life saver.” The older girl turned to the blonde boy who was rubbing his head. The boy looked up at the girl and Tai saw her nudge her head at Tai.

“Ah! Y-Yes, thank you for the help!” the young boy squeaked. Tai put his hands up and had a soft smile.

“It’s no problem. Are you sure you’re okay?” Tai asked his fellow blonde. The boy nodded his head and stopped rubbing his head. “Good. Anyway, you should thank my daughter, she got that last sheet for me.” Tai placed a comforting hand his daughter’s shoulder. Ruby dug her face into his pants a little more when the older blonde looked at her.

However the girl smiled and bent over a little bit and stuck her hand out. “Hi, I’m Saphron, what’s your name?” Ruby shuffled nervously before Tai gave her a reassuring squeeze.

“It’s okay,” he said. Ruby swallowed her fear and stuck a hand out to shake Saphron’s.

“I-I’m Ruby…” she squeaked.

“Ruby! That’s a pretty name.” Saphron gave a warm smile that seemed to calm Ruby down a bit. “Thank you for helping us out Ruby.” The two let go and Saphron turned to the boy called Jaune. He looked over at Ruby and he himself shifted nervously before approaching them with a awkward hand out.

“Uh.. H-Hi, I’m Jaune,” he greeted. Ruby shifted nervously again before shaking hands with the boy.

“Ruby…” she muttered. Tai couldn’t believe it. Someone who was just as awkward as Ruby! The reason he was happy was that he was afraid Ruby would start thinking it’s weird that she was socially awkward. He was trying to get Ruby out of her shell, but at the same time, he understood that he couldn’t force her. Having someone who was just as awkward as her showed her that she wasn’t alone.

“T-Thanks Ruby!” the boy thanked with a grin. Ruby smiled a little bit at his grin as it seemed to be infectious. Tai wished he had a camera to take a picture. It was too cute.

However, the shy smile on the boy’s face turned to horror as he remembered why he was running in the first place. “Crap! Mom’s going to kill us!” He grabbed Saphron’s hand and began to drag her. Not before the both of them thanked the two again for their help and waved goodbye.

Ruby and Tai waved goodbye to the fleeing blondes. Tai felt a sense of pride as he saw Ruby’s smile. He always adored that smile, and it usually only comes out near him, Yang, and Qrow. It very rarely came out around strangers.

Ruby Meanwhile had a warmth enveloping her body. Those two were so nice to her, despite the fact she basically hit the boy in the face with the door. Not only that, the fact that she was able to catch the paper her father missed was still fanning her pride a bit. She hadn’t expected to catch that piece of paper, but apparently her feet were faster than she thought.

After that eventful incident, Tai grabbed her hand and they made their way back to their seats. There was one thing was buzzing in the back of Tai’s mind. He could’ve sworn he’s seen those two before.

They eventually reached their seats, and got comfortable. The curtains were drawn, which they weren’t previously, and they could see lights shining on the stage. Tai heard Ruby tell Yang about what happened, which caused a laugh to erupt from his eldest. It also prompted his youngest to pout and playfully punch her for laughing at her misfortune.

In the middle of the hitting however, everyone heard voices erupt from the speakers. A hush fell on the crowd as everyone heard the voices whisper. No one could pick up exactly what was being said, due to many of them, but they were able to catch glimpses of it.

“Move over you’re crowding!”

“Cali is the sound set up?”

“Guys…?”

“Sweetie is everything good?”

“Shh be quiet!”

“I’m so excited!”

“Guys calm down!”

Eventually a fierce voice erupted from the whispers causing them to stop.

“Everyone be quiet!” the voice yelled.

“Sorry mom…” another voice quietly apologized.

“Thank you honey,” a male voice beamed. There was the sound of a throat clearing, four clicks, and a bunch of voices harmonizing together. The stage lights turned brighter and eight Shadows were shown to be behind the curtain as the first song began.

“_Deck the halls with boughs of Holly,  
Fa la la la la, la la la la~ ”_

A couple of voices sang the lyrics while others hummed in the background acapella style.

“_Tis, the season to be Jolly,  
Fa la la la la, la la la la~  
Don we now our gay apparel  
Fa la la, la la la!  
La la la!”_

All of the voices meshed and harmonized very well giving that holly jolly spirit of the season. No one couldn’t help but put a smile on their face.

“_Troll the ancient yule tide Carol  
Fa la la la la  
La La~  
La~  
Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”_

The singers held that last note for a solid measure. All of a sudden, a piano began to play the familiar fast tune of “_All I want for Christmas” _as six of the silhouettes dash off to the sides, leaving only two. The piano played some filler notes, and out from the curtains came a blonde woman around Tai’s age if not a little bit older. This woman was Poppy Arc.

She began to vocalize as the Piano continued to play some filler notes and more instruments joined in. As she walked forward she placed a hand on her throat to make sure she was keeping her voice in tune. However what most people noticed was the sweater she was wearing.

It was one of the ugliest Christmas sweaters Tai had ever seen. It was bright green with a snowman in the middle of it, with red and blue flecked all around the sides. The sleeves were green all the way until they reached the wrist where it then turned red. The snow man had a smile on its face, and in red letters exclaimed “All I smell are carrots!” It was both the dumbest and funniest thing Tai has ever seen that he couldn’t help but laugh.

Finally the piano played the notes to continue on the verse, and Poppy began to sing and sway.

“_I don’t want a lot for Christmas,  
There is just one thing I need!”_

Out from the curtain comes a brown haired man with another ugly sweater and a big grin on his face. If Tai recalled correctly, this Was Michael Arc, Poppy’s husband. His sweater was a candy cane themed one with red and white striped on the torso, and green sleeves. He began to approach the woman as he sang his verse.

“_I don’t care about the presents!  
Underneath, the Christmas tree!”_

As he sang his part, the curtains opened wide to a living room background, complete with a fireplace, eight socks with different names stitched in them, a big pine tree with colorful presents underneath, to which the man was pointing to, and a couch and other chairs all across the stage.

The two looked at each other and held their hands together as they sang the next verse.

“_I just want you for my own!”_

They pulled themselves together so that their foreheads were touching and the smiles and look they were giving each other was filled with love… love that made Tai’s heart squeeze as it reminded him of Summer.

“_More than you could ever know!”_

They broke apart again and whilst Michael sang the next verse normally, Poppy added a little swing into hers.

_“Make my wish come true!  
All I want for Christmas…”_

Poppy shoved Michael to the side a bit and took over, which caused the man to roll his eyes with a smile on his face.

“_Oooh… IIIIs~  
Yoooouuuuu!”_

The two came back together on that last note. As they did, two kids come from different sides of the stage with annoyed looks on their faces. One of them was a blonde girl that seemed to be in her early teens wearing a red sweater with a Santa hat on, and a brunette on the other side who looked to be a little bit younger wearing a green sweater with a red scarf.

Samantha and Dakota Arc.

They began to push their parents to the back of stage hoping to get them out of the spotlight. Their mother broke through their grip however and got one final note in.

_“Yoooooouuuuuu!”_

It was a very high note, with a bit of swing mixed in at the end. With that she left the front stage and retreated to the props behind after getting her final curtain call, which caused a little bit of the audience to laugh. The two sisters looked at each other and shook their heads, and then approached the front of the stage. The music switched from the previous song to “_Jingle Bell Rock.” _And the two sisters faced the audience, with bright confident smiles.

_“Jingle bell, Jingle bell,  
Jingle bell rock!”_

Dakota, the brunette took a step forward and spread her arms out as her sister took a step back.

“_Jingle bells swing,  
And jingle bells ring!”_

Her voice was a little lower than her mothers, but still in tune with the music. Samantha and Dakota then switched spots with Samantha taking a more closed approached compared to her sister as she crossed her arms, but get the confident smile on her face.

“_Snowing, and blowing  
Up bushels of fun.”_

Samantha’s voice was very low compared to her sisters. It wasn’t baritone or tenor deep, but it was getting close to that range. The two sisters looked at each other, their grins grew wider, and they faced the audience.

“_Now the jingle hop has begun!”_

The music switched to a heavier more techno beat but still in the style of the song. The sisters then began to dance in perfect synchronization, almost as if they were connected by wires, as they sang their next part.

Tai took a glance at his daughters to see an impressed smirk on Yang’s face, whilst Ruby was bopping along to the beat, which caused the blonde to grow a joyous smile.

_“Jingle bell Jingle bell,  
Jingle bell rock!”_

The two sisters danced a couple steps back as Dakota sang her piece.

“_Jingle bells chime  
in jingle bell time!”_

The two put their backs together as Samantha sang her part.

“_Dancing, and prancing  
in jingle bell square…”_

They separated and spread their arms broadway style, but kept each other’s fingers touching and so they were reaching out to the audience. As they began to sing their final part, Tai noticed a boy approach them from behind. A very familiar blonde boy.

“_In the frosty air!”_

As they sang their last part, the blonde boy shoved their arms open like he was entering through a gate and the music shifted once again. the two sisters went to the fireplace in the back as the audience got a look at the boy in front of them. As they did, some of the audience began to laugh as he was wearing a black sweater with green reindeer prancing on a red zigzagging road. Along the road was green pine trees as well. On his head was a green Santa hat.

“Dad isn’t that him?!” Ruby nearly screamed out as she saw the young child. Tai didn’t need to think about who Ruby was talking about.

He was the one Ruby and Tai ran into.

He was also Jaune Arc, one of the half of the Twinsanity Couple of Trope de Arc.

He held his arms out like his other sisters, but he was still facing the audience as he sang his verse.

“_Oh the weather outside is frightful!”_

His voice was a bit higher for a male’s singing voice, but it made sense as he was still just a child. He then brought his arms in and crossed his chest almost as if he was hugging himself.

“_But the fire is so delightful.”_

He gave a small shrug as a blonde girl around his age crept up on him with an evil grin across her face. Jade Arc, the second half of the Twinsanity couple. She was wearing the complete opposite of Jaune. She had a white sweater on with red reindeers and trees, with green zigzag roads. She also had a red Santa hat on.

“_And since we’ve no place to go…”_

Jade popped up next to her brother, much to his surprise and chagrin. Despite that, they both sung in complete and beautiful harmony.

“_Let it snow  
Let it snow  
Let it snow!”_

Jade playfully pushed her brother’s face away as she took over. As she did she teased Jaune with a smug look.

“_When we finally kiss goodnight,”_

Jaune opened his mouth with his tongue out and pointed at it to gag and caused a couple of chuckles to arise from the audience. Jade then put the back of her hand to her head and pretended to look faint.

_“Oh how I hate waiting out in the storm!”_

She then put her arm to her mouth and did an adorable “sneeze” into it. She then wrapped her other arm around her brother and gave him a big hug which caused the boy to roll his eyes, but also smile.

“_But if you really hold me tight!”_

Jaune wrapped his arm around Jade and they both faced the crowd one more time.

“_All the way home, we’ll be warm!”_

The music took another shift slowed down a bit, and went back to regular Christmas music. As it did the twins ran to the back of the stage and joined the rest of their family, and two people came from the sides. One was an older gentleman with… a literal candy cane cane. As in, the cane itself was in the shape of a candy cane, colors and all. He was wearing a suit but it was decorated like an ugly sweater with reindeer, colorful stripes, pine trees, sleighs, the whole nine yards. He also was wearing a fedora with mistletoe strapped to the side of it.

Azure Arc, the one who started the troupe.

On the opposite side of the stage was the young blonde woman that Ruby and Tai ran into when they went to the bathrooms, Saphron Arc. She was wearing a green strapless dress with white fur coating that wrapped around her shoulders. She wore reindeer antlers, and around her waist was a red sash that was tied like a Christmas bow.

The two began to approach the middle of the stage, with Saphron starting to sing.

_“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,”_

Her voice was softer compared to her siblings. She also began to sway back in forth as she walked over to the middle. Azure, her grandfather, swayed with her, and sang the last word after Saphron. The two stopped when they reached the middle and swayed together as they sang together.

_“Everywhere we go…”_

Saphron sang the next verse.

_“Take a look at the five and ten,”_

As she said “five and ten” she held up her fingers respectively to the lyrics. Azure nodded to his family at the back of the stage as they flashed some of the ornaments to the crowd and sang the next verse.

_“Glistening once again!”_

Azure tossed his candy cane up in the air and twirled it, whilst Saphron put her hands to her chest with a big happy smile on her face as they sang together.

“_With candy canes  
and sliver lanes aglow!”_

Azure pounded the cane to the ground.

“_It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!”_

Saphron took a deep breath as Dakota handed her some bells. Saph shook the bells a bit as she sang the next part.

_“Soon, the bells will start!  
And the thing that will make them ring,”_

Azure took a step forward with his verse.

_“Is the Carol that you sing,”_

The two wrapped their arms around each other as they sang the next verse.

“_Right within, your heart!”_

As they held the final note, the five females of the family approached them and went on Saphron’s side of the stage. Jade got between her grandfather and sister, shoved them apart, and sang the next verse as the beat dropped to a more techno feel.

“_Santa Baby!”_

As she shoved them apart, she pushed her grandfather to the side where Jaune and Michael were as the three of them looked confused as to what the girls were doing. Poppy then went in front of them with a smug look on her face and sang.

_“Slip a Sable under the tree, for me!”_

Saphron got a wicked smile on her face and placed her hands on her heart again and pretended to swoon whilst fluttering her eyelashes at the three generation of Arc men. The three of them had their mouths open aghast at what the girls were doing.

“_Been an awful good girl.”_

Dakota stuck to the back but had her arms crossed. She leaned in a bit as she sang her part.

“_Santa Baby!”_

Finally, Samantha gave a smug shrug as she walked to the front of the girls.

“_And hurry down the chimney tonight!”_

All the girls looked at each other, than the boys, and they all did the “Come at me” motion with their hands as they all sang together. As they did, the guys recovered from their shock, and Michael and Jaune looked at Azure who was formulating a plan.

_“And hurry down the chimney tonight!”_

As the girls sang their final verse, Azure began to chuckle evilly, and cocked an eyebrow at them as the music shifted tone and speed again.

“_You’re a mean one… Mr. Grinch!”_

Jaune and Michael looked at each other, and got smug looks on their faces as Azure began to sing. Michael approached the girls with his arms crossed and sang his verse as deep as he could. As he did he lifted his foot and pointed at it.

“_You really, are, a heel!”_

Jaune ran in front of his father and lunged at the girls, which caused them to take a couple steps back as he put his hands close to his head and moved his fingers in a weird snake like way.

“_Your brain is full of spiders  
You’ve got Garlic in your soul Mr. Grinch!”_

As he sang the second verse, he put his hands to his heart and gave a look of pity before turning into a sadistic smile. Both him and Michael took a step back as Azure grabbed his cane and pointed it at the girls as he sang.

_“We wouldn’t touch you…_”

The three men then sang in harmony. Jaune had his arms spread out in a “Are you not entertained” motion, whilst Michael had his arms crossed with a quirked eyebrow.

“_With a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole!”_

The music cut for just a couple a seconds as the three male Arcs stared at the rest of their family. Then it turns a little bit softer before the Arcs slowly lose their composure and all of them have smiles and some even laughing. Poppy began to leave the stage before turning around to face her husband with a wink.

“_I really can’t stay.”_

Michael rushed over to her and put his arm around her.

“_Baby it’s cold outside.”_

Samantha tried to leave the stage as well as she sang her next bit.

_“I’ve got to go away.”_

The blonde was stopped by the eldest of the Arc siblings, Saphron. She put a hand on her little sisters shoulder as she sang her bit.

“_Sammy it’s cold outside.”_

Dakota just walked to the back of the stage and plopped down on the couch as she sang.

“_This evening has been”_

Azure walked over and put a hand on his grandaughter’s head as he sung.

“_Been hoping you’d drop in.”_

Poppy snuggled closer ot her husband as she sang again.

“_So very nice…”_

Michael wrapped his hands around his wife’s as he stared deeply in to her eyes.

_“I’ll hold your hands,  
they’re just like ice!”_

Jade giggled a bit as she and Jaune sat down next to the tree in back.

“_I oughta say  
No, no, no sir!”_

Jaune leaned into his sister a bit and pushed her face as revenge when he sang his line.

_“Mind if I move in closer?”_

Samantha swatted Saphron’s hand off and shrugged.

“_At least I’m gonna say that I tried.”_

Saphron feigned being hurt as she put her hand to her chest.

“_What’s the sense in hurting my pride?”_

The arc sslowly came together near the back of the stage with the props as Poppy sang her verse. As she did, a smile erupted from her face as she saw all of her kids get together.

_“I really can’t stay.”_

Michael had a grin on his face as well as he saw the family get together.

“_But baby don’t hold out.”_

Once the Arcs were all together again, they faced the audience, stood up, and sang in perfect harmony again.

“_Ahh but it’s cold, outside!”_

The lights slowly dimmed down as Azure walked forward and the rest of the Arcs sat down near the set. Eventually it was dark except for a single spotlight on Azure and his candy cane cane. The music slowed down to just simple piano music. Azure took a deep breath and calmly sang.

“_Have yourself, a merry little Christmas.  
Let your heart be light.  
From now on your troubles will be out  
of sight.”_

Poppy approached the spotlight and walked up next to her father. She placed her hand on top of his on the cane and gave a squeeze as he nodded for her to continue. Poppy took a look back at her family and then at the audience.

“_Through the years we all will be together,  
If the Fates align...  
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough!”_

As she sang the last verse, another spotlight shone on the Christmas tree. There, was all of the other Arcs surround the tree, as Michael place a yellow star on top of it. In that moment, everyone in the crowd and on stage felt a warmth spread around them. Despite all the hardships the people of remnant had to face, they made it another year.

Tai wrapped his arm around both Yang and Ruby, who would usually tear his hand away as it was “embarrassing” when he showed love. Yet this time, they snuggled up closer to him as the Arcs continued their routine.

The spotlight on the tree died down, and the two singing Arcs began to walk forward and gesture to the audience.

“_And have yourself,  
a merry little Christmas…”_

Poppy and Azure slowly began to bow as they sang their final verse. Poppy did a full, one arm in front, one arm in the back bow, as Azure only dipped his head down.

_“Now~”_

Tai and everyone else was about to applaud as they went quiet. However before they could, Saphron ran up to Poppy and Azure and put her finger up.

“Uh, does that mean it’s over?” she asked.

All of a sudden Dakota blew past her elders as she held her hands up in the air in the most dramatic theatrical way possible.

“No! It’s just getting started!”

The voice of Jaune could be heard from the back.

“I’m tired!” he whined.

The lights turned off as the music began to pick up speed again. Then, the lights began flashing Christmas colors as the music continued to increase in volume and into a rock-ish tune.

Michael Arc began to bop his head along to the music as he pointed out to the audience.

_“You better watch out!”_

Jade Arc made a weeping motion as she ran past her father to the front of the stage.

“_You better not cry!”_

The father and daughter duo then pointed at the audience as they sang together.

“_You better not pout we’re telling you why!”_

Saphron got up next to them and belted out the next line.

“_Santa Clause is coming, to town!”_

Samantha and Azure got next to each other and continued to dance ot the ebat.

_“He sees you when your sleeping,  
He knows when you’re awake!” _

Dakota and Poppy walked in front of the to block them as they took over.

“_He knows when you’ve been bad or good so be good for goodness sake!”_

Michael sang his next line as he pushed them apart.

_“Oh you better watch out!”_

Saphron cut him off to sing next.

“_You better not cry!”_

Then, Jaune rushed past his siter and began to belt out as he pointed to all of the audience.

“_You better not pout  
and I’m tellin’ you why!”_

Finally, the Arcs stopped trying to overpower each other, got in a single line, and began to dance to the beat. It wasn’t really in unison, it was really a family just trying to have fun, and yet it worked. So much so, that it caused the audience to bop to the song and even clap along.

“_Santa Claus is coming to town!  
Santa Clause is coming to town!  
Santa Clause is coming to town!  
Santa clause is coming to town!”_

As they sang a couple of the girls would sing “to town” afterwards before getting right back in with the family again. Finally, everyone stop dancing as Poppy put a hand up, and sing a final dynamic line.

“_Santa Clause!  
Is coming~”_

The music and Poppy stopped for a second. The matriarch then got a wicked grin on her face as she looked up at the audience.

_“To town, town town!”_

The Arcs cheered for their matriarch before singing one final line together. They wrapped their arms around each other and went all out.

“_Santa Clause is coming to town!”_ The music cut out, and the spotlights stopped flashing. All that was left was a Smiling happy family waving at the audience. The crowd began to clap, cheer, and whistle as the Arcs waved to everyone in the crowd. They all took a bow as the curtain behind them began to close. The crowd continued their applause which caused all of the Arcs to motion towards the lighting crew.

They bowed again as the audience still continued to clap and cheer. Eventually the family slowly began to retreat into the curtains and the cheering soon died down. The audience soon began to leave the stage and head back out to the festival. There was still a little bit of light left before it got too dark.

As the Xiao Long family got up from their seats, Ruby couldn’t stop bouncing and grinning with amazement, whilst Yang just had a smile on her face the whole time.

“That was so fun!” Ruby squeed “They all looked like they had so much fun! And the songs were fun to listen to, everyone had a good voice, the dancing and acting was fun, and I still can’t believe we met two of the performers when we went to the bathroom!”

“Rubes calm down!” Yang pleaded with the buzzing girl. “You look like you’re gonna pop.”

“I can’t calm down Yang! That was great!” The little ball of energy suddenly turned and wrapped herself around Tai’s leg. “Thank you for taking us to this dad!”

“Yeah dad, this was a lot of fun.” The two smiles on their faces brought one of his own as he ruffled both of their hairs. Yang quickly got away muttering how it took her “hours” to do her hair whilst Ruby just giggled at the affection.

“Well, it’s still a lit bit before bed time, so how about we try to find some more food?” With a resounding “yes” from his daughters, the family moved from the theatre area to the stalls.

Most of the stalls had good sugary snack items, but Tai knew better than to give Ruby more sweets than the ones she’s consumed already. Eventually though, they did find some food stalls selling actual food. The family decided to eat at the hot pot stall, grabbed their food, and sat down in the dining area. As they did though, they heard a commotion come from the edge of the food stall area.

Tai craned his neck over the tables and people to see what was going on. A group of nine people just walked into the dining area. All of them a mix of brunette and blonde, all of them talking not only amongst each other but to the villagers as well, all of them tired, and hungry, from finishing a performance.

Tai saw six figures break off from the group as three looked around for something. eventually the oldest figure waved for the other two to follow him and they soon sat down at a table. Funnily enough, the table was just two away from where Tai and his family were sitting.

Eventually the six figures that sprinted away and to the other stalls found the three adults, sat down, and began eating a chatting.

“So Rubes,” Yang said as she filled her mouth with some hot pot. “That’s your boyfriend whose face you smashed in right?” She was pointing to the boy of the group of nine who was currently stopping his twin from eating from his bowl of soup.

“Yang!” Ruby pouted. “Not so loud! And he’s not my boyfriend!”

“Why was that your second answer?”

Ruby pouted as Yang laughed merrily. Tai couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the sisters teasing. Still today was a very successful day. As he saw his two girls fight, his huntsmen sense started going off and looked behind him. Nope, no one staring there. To his sides? All clear… In front?

In front of him, two tables away was the boy, Jaune Arc, staring at him. Tai waved politely at the boy, which caused him to point at Tai. All of a sudden a hand whapped the boy’s causing him to moan in pain.

“What did I tell you about pointing?” Tai heard ever so clearly. After that though, all nine heads turned around and looked at Tai, which caused the man to wave awkwardly at the Arcs.

Eventually, one of them got up and made their way over to their table, much to the shock of all of the Arcs, and Tai himself. The woman picked up her steaming sandwich, and plopped herself down across from Tai, which caused his two girls to stop fighting and turn towards the new dinner friend.

“Are you Tai?” the woman asked. Both of his girls looked starry eyed at the woman sitting beside them, whilst Tai had a look of confusion. What would Poppy Arc want with him?

“Um… yes,” he answered. “Can I help you miss Arc?”

“I just want to ask, my children did thank you for helping them yes?” Tai’s girls looked between the matriarch and their father multiple times but eventually Tai nodded his head. “Well then, I guess my kids were telling the truth.” She turned her head over her shoulder and to her family. “For once!”

All of her young ones looked at her with the “what did I do?’ look. She rolled her eyes before standing up and giving a little bow to Tai.

“Still, thank you, and sorry for your troubles. In fact you helping my children with that might have saved us a lot of trouble.” She looked back at her kids and then at the three in front of her. Particularly Ruby and Yang, who continued to stare awestruck in front of the beautiful blonde woman in front of them. The matriarch smiled and turned back to Tai. “In fact, why don’t you join us? Have us properly return the favor.”

“Miss Arc we wouldn’t want to intrude on you.” She waved her hand off and scoffed.

“Nonsense I’m inviting you.” She pointed her head down to his kids. “Besides, I think they really want to. Isn’t that right girls?” The two quiet girls finally broke as they started to plead with their dad to join the Arcs. Knowing he was outnumbered, the father sighed.

“All right. We’ll gladly join you.”

‘YES!” his darling little daughters screamed out. They grabbed their bowls and practically ran to the other table as Tai sighed and slowly got up. The matriarch stuck her hand out for the father to shake.

“I’m Poppy Arc, it is nice to meet you.”

“Taiyang Xiao Long. It is nice to meet you Miss Arc.”

“And you Mr. Long. Come, meet the rest of my family. I’m sure you’ll find them interesting.”

**To be continued.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song used: Christmas Medley Ft Youtube Singers. Posted by Kathy-chan.  
A very late merry christmas to everyone. Hope you all enjoyed this holiday themed chapter. And to those of you who are joining in during a different time of year, hello! Anyway, I mean t to update this closer to christmas but it slipped my mind when i posted it to FFN. I apologize for that. Anyway, next chapter will most likely not have a performance on it as I do not want to just make this a “Jaune and fam sing songs, everyone reacts, the end” kind of a story. Whilst yes that is the main brunt of it, I do want there to actually be a story.  
Aside from that, Tell me what yall think. I appreciate any reviews, comments, criticsms, etc. Anyway I hope you all enjoyed and I’ll see you next chapter.


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